LIVE SIMPLY

• Each Sunday for the past year or so, we have prayed together the Live Simply Prayer. The second section of which goes as follows:

Creator God you gave us responsibility for the earth, a world of riches and delight. Create in us a desire to live sustainably, so that those who follow us may enjoy the fruits of your creation

• I have been reflecting on this in preparing to give this address and will say a few words about it later– but first let me share with you a couple of stories which I think illustrate what I think is really at the heart of this lovely prayer

• Some 30 years ago I was in Denmark meeting in the course of my work the owner of a chemical works. I was already at that time interested in environmental issues and concerned with the increasing level of pollution, so I was amazed and heartened to see during my visit the steps which his company were taking to reduce emissions, to save energy, to recycle waste etc in ways that were far ahead of any company I knew and well ahead of legal requirements. Over a drink I asked the owner -why he was doing all this. He went quiet and then told me that some years earlier he was watching the TV news with his 8 year old grandson when an item came up about a factory in Denmark polluting a river -the boy turned to him and said – “Your factory wouldn’t do that would it grandad” – he said that he just could not look the boy in the face because his factory was at that time just as bad – he vowed then that he would start the next day to meet the expectations of his grandson – from now on he decided that “I have to leave the world for him in a better state than it is now” (or as our Live Simply Prayer has it that his grandson could “enjoy the fruits of God’s creation”) And all these years later it is again the young who are challenging us to act with the school strikes on Friday

• I never forgot that man and when some years later when I was environment director of a large organisation he came to mind when I was holding a discussion with managers about why our company should take its environmental responsibilities seriously. We went through the usual points – improving the company image, reducing energy costs by better systems, reducing waste disposal costs etc when one young guy, from Malaysia I recall, said “But surely we do it because it is the right thing to do”

• I don’t think either of these two people were Christians, yet by their words and actions they really increased my awareness that we had responsibilities for the coming generation and that care for the environment was not primarily a technological issue but was essentially a matter of morality

• During the past 30 years or so that I have been active in environmental work, two things have come to the fore

Firstly the evidence that human activities are having a serious negative impact on the environment is ever more strong - notably in causing climate change and destroying much of our beautiful creation . We can no longer claim that we don’t know.

Secondly : that concern for the environment is central to our life as Catholic Christians; it is not a peripheral interest for enthusiasts

• The evidence is increasingly before our eyes. Many of you will have seen the Blue Planet TV programmes which showed us horrific pictures of the million tonnes of plastic polluting our oceans and destroying the wonderful creatures that live there. And this last year we have seen pictures of the devastating effects of climate change in causing unprecedented numbers of floods, droughts and forest fires throughout the world. Cafod representatives are reporting the suffering this is causing to so many people in all the countries in which they work. The effects are happening now – not sometime in the future.

• So the picture is disturbing. And urgent action is needed. Climate change is the greatest crisis mankind has ever faced. There is a consensus amongst climate scientists that unless we make substantial and radical progress in the next 12 years future generations will face irreversible changes which will have grave consequences for life on earth.

• But it is not too late. And Christians can and must be in the forefront of the response to the crisis. God created our world and as we are told in Genesis “He saw that it was good”

• I think it is fair to say that the Churches have hitherto not been notably active in calling for and demonstrating by their lives effective action in this area

• But this is changing and most significantly as demonstrated by the Pope’s Encyclical in in 2015 - Laudato Si. This wonderful message from the Pope can give us confidence that we can all do our part in helping to bring this about the urgent changes that are needed

• Let me read you the opening words

“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.

• As a parish, with our support for Cafod in their work for the poor of our world, and in our commitment to Live Simply we have I think made a good start in taking the Pope’s words seriously

• But I believe we can do more especially on the environment. But faced with the enormity of the problems it is understandable that we often feel helpless. But remember – we are not being called on to personally save the world. We are however all called by God to do what we can in our own circumstances. Everyone can do something.

• As you leave mass today you will be handed a document from the Salford Diocese whose bishop, John Arnold is responsible for the environment on behalf of the Bishop’s Conference. It is a very helpful guide to possible actions all of us can take and what better time than Lent to start. And above all keep praying for guidance from God about what we personally can do.

• Let me finish with a final word from Pope Francis. He says that we are not to be gloomy and oppressed by the size of the problem. Here are his concluding words from Laudato Si

“Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for the planet never take away the joy of our hope.”

So let us go forth to bring healing and joy to all creation; may God’s blessing be with you in your efforts.

Mike Monaghan - ST ANNES BUXTON - MARCH 2019

Welcome to a bumper edition of Just Now, the newsletter for everyone who wants to bring faith to life in the diocese of Nottingham. It’s been a while since the last one, but now that we have a new Fieldworker in post we’re back in business. Click to open.

St Anne’s Justice and Peace Group is committed to working towards Peace through Justice and Compassion. It supports the work of the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission seeking to enable all people to challenge injustice, promote stewardship of creation and work for peace.

Click to listen to music as you browse this page

How it Works

Prayer, Biblical reflection and Catholic Social Teaching are what motivates us. Justice and Peace work can be divided into the following areas:

Awareness and Experience: Being alert to new justice and peace situations as they arise and being aware of developments in existing issues

Analysis and Learning: Informing and educating people about key contemporary social issues in the light of the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching

Reflection and Discernment: Encouraging thoughtful spiritual reflection in the light of the Gospel

Action: Encouraging and supporting individuals and groups to take considered, realistic and appropriate action

Celebration: Encouraging the whole Diocese as well as parishes and groups to celebrate their work together

Justice and Peace Events and Actions during the past year:
• We have held monthly coffee mornings after Sunday mass on the last Sunday of each month with donations going to CAFOD and Pax Christi for which they have expressed their thanks.
• Fr Dennis organised the Autumn and Lent Fast Day collections for CAFOD.
• We held Justice and Peace Liturgies: a Service for Peace in January and the Justice and Peace Stations of the Cross on Palm Sunday, both of which were very well attended.
• Pax Christi Prayer Cards were given out to all parishioners during January.
• We hosted a talk on Islam in April which was given by Farouk Kardahji, the aim of which was to increase our understanding of this great faith. It was very well attended, and Christians from other Buxton churches also came and enjoyed it.
• We encouraged people to be aware of our responsibilities regarding Climate Change, and many parishioners signed the CAFOD petition, which was sent to the Prime Minister.
• The parish was represented by 2 parishioners at the National Justice and Peace Network Conference in July.
• The Justice and Peace Noticeboard at the back of church has continued to be maintained with up to date news.
• All members of the Justice and Peace Group and the PPC now have the following e-bulletins circulated to them: ‘Just Now!’ – the Nottingham Diocesan Justice and Peace bulletin produce by Louise Cook, our Diocesan Field Worker; ‘NWJPN’ – the North West National Justice and Peace monthly paper; ‘CAFOD Nottingham Diocesan News Bulletin’ produced by our Diocesan representative, Maggie Mairura; and any other relevant communications coming from CAFOD, Pax Christi or the National Justice and Peace Network. These help to keep us mindful of our mission to work for a kingdom of Compassion, Justice and Peace.
Future Events
The Justice and Peace Group explored the CAFOD ‘Live simply’ Award, looking at what it involved and how it could be used in our parish. The Group decided that they would like to do it, and this was then put to the PPC for approval. The PPC was supportive and we have now been registered with the awarding body and are awaiting our ‘Starter Pack’. It has been suggested that we launch ‘Livesimply’ in the Parish at the beginning of December. This will coincide with the end of the Year of Mercy, and as Bishop Patrick has expressed a wish for each parish to develop a legacy to follow on from this Year, ‘Live simply… so that others might simply live’ would be an appropriate activity for us to take on at this time.
When we launch ‘Livesimply’ there will be information for all parishioners, a noticeboard, and weekly updates in the bulletin so that everyone will be know what’s happening. Our targets will be set by the Justice and Peace Group and the PPC, and approved by the awarding body. There will be plenty of opportunity for everyone to be involved, whatever their ages and interests!
It is anticipated that the award will take about 18 months to complete, but this is flexible. We will have targets, activities and fun, and when we are ready 2 assessors will visit the parish to give us their judgement. If (and when) we pass, it will be cause for a big celebration and a time to feel grateful for everything we have, and for being part of a loving and responsible parish community.
The Justice and Peace Group would like to thank everyone who has shown their support in any way over the past year, with special thanks going to Fr Dennis for carrying the message from the pulpit each week.

Yvonne Ripley
28/10/2016

Sometimes we might feel disheartened when faced with everything that needs doing as we go about our daily lives and as we hear about all the painful issues around the world. At times like this it helps to pray Oscar Romero’s Prayer.

Oscar Romero (1917–1980) was Archbishop of San Salvador in El Salvador. He was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass in a small chapel in a cancer hospital where he lived. He had always been close to his people, and preached a prophetic gospel denouncing the injustice in his country. He became the voice of the Salvadoran people when all other channels of expression had been crushed by repression.

A Future Not Our Own (Words by Oscar Romero)

It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's
grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the
difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not
messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

Join Saint Anne’s Justice and Peace group and/or support their activities

Support activities in the parish and beyond which promote compassion justice and peace

Publicise how parish activities that you are involved with relate to justice and peace on the new Saint Anne’s Justice and Peace blog www.saintannesjusticeandpeace.blogspot.com We will then have a record of all the good things that happen in the parish

Talk to people about Justice and Peace, share your ideas and pass them on

Support the Justice and Peace ‘Stations of the Cross’ liturgy in Saint Anne’s on Palm Sunday 2015

At the Methodist Church in the Market Place (side entrance)
Last Friday of every month, 8-10pm {or come for any part of this 2-hour period}“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” [Luke 5:16]
Buxton Police & Ambulance Services, Those out late ‘on the town’ Town, & University Chaplains
Food Bank Night-stop The Work of CTiB over Lent, Easter & Christmas Bible-study Group
The Church Ministers Christian Unity CTiB leadership
The mentally ill Those addicted to drugs and/or alcohol Evangelism ‘Open the Book’
Work with young people The Christian Bookshop ANO? ANO? ……